Attachment 5 - Q A Responses.docx

Q&As in response to Solicitation # W51AA126QA024, PAVIS Services

Vendor Question #1: Given the question & answer (Q&A) submission deadline of January 8 and the proposal due date of January 14, can the Government consider a short extension to the proposal due date to allow offerors adequate time to review any Government responses or updates and to allow Army Materiel Command sufficient time to provide clarifications? Industry standard usually allocates 5 business days between receipt of government answers and final response submission.

Government Response #1: The Government will extend the due date of the solicitation and an Amendment will be created to incorporate all of the required changes.

Vendor Question #2: Can the Government confirm whether the PAVIS described (70 buildings and 96 zones) represents a single integrated system, or multiple independent public address systems supported under this contract? Additionally, are each of the 70 buildings connected to a facility wide network?

Government Response #2: It is a single integrated system and yes, all 70 Buildings are connected.

Vendor Question #3: Section 4.4 of the PWS states that the "contractor shall install new zone on PAVIS." Is it the Government's intention for this to be in addition to the 96 existing zones? If so, how many is required? It is impossible for the contractor to correctly provide an estimated number of zones without diagram of the existing system and/or floor plans for each building.

Government Response #3: This task is unlikely to be needed, therefore, it has been removed from the PWS.

Vendor Question #4: Section 9 references individual bids for on-call site visits. Can the Government confirm whether the intent is for offerors to propose a single firm-fixed annual price per CLIN rather than per-call or per-task pricing?

Government Response #4: the contract type has been updated to T&M. Please see the solicitation amendment 0001.

Vendor Question #5: The PWS is missing significant details outlining the Government's requirements of the PA system. Can the government provide drawings of the existing system, floor plans of the building, and/or the number of speakers required? This is required in order to provide the requested Firm Fixed Price proposal for a turnkey system.

Government Response #5: There are no drawings or floor plans available to be provided. This is a rather old system.

Vendor Question #6: Page 4 of the Solicitation document outlines the Supplies and Services descriptions; however, the descriptions are the same for the Base Year and Option Years 1 and 2,"Public Address/Visual Information and Television Broadcast System (PAVIS) Maintenance and Installation Services.” Is the Government intending the base year to include all of the installation services with maintenance being performed in Option Year 1 and 2?

Government Response #6: No, all years are essentially the same; to maintain the existing system and fix problems as they arise throughout the contract.

Vendor Question #7: Incumbent Contractor & Transition - Is there an incumbent contractor currently providing PAVIS support services? If so, does the incumbent contract include a phase-out or transition period, including knowledge transfer, documentation handover, or training to ensure continuity of operations for a successor contractor?

Government Response #7: Yes, there is a current incumbent contractor and No, it doesn’t include a phase-out transition period. But there should be some time between the new award date and the end of the current contract expiration date for transition.

Vendor Question #8: Onsite Staffing Expectations - Please confirm that this is an on-call, task-order–driven contract, and that there is no requirement for full-time or routine onsite staffing absent a service request, scheduled installation, or special event support.

Government Response #8: Yes, this is an on-call type contract.

Vendor Question #9: Staffing Levels & Emergency Coverage - Are staffing levels left to the contractor’s discretion provided response times are met, and for emergency or security-related calls requiring onsite response within four (4) working hours, is a single qualified technician sufficient, or is simultaneous multi-technician coverage expected?

Government Response #9: Yes, staffing levels are left to the contractor as long as the task gets accomplished within a timely fashion of reported issue.

Vendor Question #10: Component Replacement Scope (Tasks 4.1–4.3) Referencing Sections 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3 of the PWS (Scope of Work & Level of Effort) - Please clarify whether the requirements to provide, install, remove, and/or replace PAVIS components are primarily associated with trouble calls, equipment failures, and incremental upgrades, or whether they are intended to support system-wide or lifecycle-based replacement efforts, as this distinction significantly impacts manpower planning.

Government Response #10: This is primarily install to remove and replace existing PAVIS components that go down. These calls are based on troubleshooting and replacing already existing equipment.

Vendor Question #11: Engineering Services Definition, Section 6 of the PWS references the provision of “engineering services.” Please clarify whether this term refers to maintenance-level system integration and technical support, or if it includes formal engineering deliverables such as stamped designs, CAD drawings, system architecture documentation, or state-certified engineering services.

Government Response #11: This is on-call level support; not stamped designs, CAD, or system architecture.

Vendor Question #12: Overlap with Other Contracts or Government Personnel - Are there any other Government contracts or Government/military personnel currently responsible for or supporting PAVIS system engineering, design, installation, or modernization efforts, whose scope may overlap with this requirement?

Government Response #12: Tobyhanna Army Depot (TYAD) is in the middle of an upgrade of the existing system. Yes, there may be some overlap with other contractors throughout this process.

Vendor Question #13: OPPM Historical Frequency - Based on historical data, approximately how often has contractor support been required outside normal duty hours, including nights or weekends?

Government Response #13: Approximately 10%

Vendor Question #14: Completion Timeframes - Beyond the stated response requirements, are there mandatory completion timelines for routine or emergency service requests?

Government Response #14: The more important the task, the more likely there will be mandatory completion timelines.

Vendor Question #15: Equipment, Materials & Inventory - Government-Furnished Spare Inventory - Does the Government currently maintain an inventory of spare PAVIS equipment and/or supplies that will be made available for contractor use in support of maintenance, repair, or replacement activities? If so, please describe the types of equipment, access procedures, and any limitations on use.

Government Response #15: There are certain line items TYAD may have at our disposal. Example: A speaker goes out in our current system. We have some spares in a Connex on the property. But, if there is a TV that goes out, we need them to be ordered through this contract and then installed. There are very limited supplies here at TYAD.

Vendor Question #16: Contractor-Furnished Equipment & Spares - Please confirm that the contractor is not required to maintain a pre-positioned spare equipment inventory, and that equipment and materials are procured only upon written authorization from the TYAD POC per individual work order.

Government Response #16: Yes, that is correct.

Vendor Question #17: Are any portions of the existing PAVIS equipment currently covered under manufacturer warranties, extended warranties, or OEM support/maintenance agreements? (e.g., software support, firmware updates, advance replacement) If so, please identify the applicable systems, coverage scope, and remaining periods of performance, and clarify whether the contractor may utilize these resources in support of maintenance and repair activities.

Government Response #17: No, this system is relatively old. The only thing that may be under any warranty would be if we needed to purchase new speakers or TVs, and they were defective out of the box.

Vendor Question #18: Lift / Forklift Costs - Please confirm that lift or forklift rental costs, when required, may be priced and invoiced as separate line items under individual work orders.

Government Response #18: Yes

Vendor Question #19: Contract Type Clarification - Please confirm the intended contract type and pricing structure. It appears the Government intends to issue firm-fixed-price work orders on a per-service-call basis, with labor and authorized equipment priced per occurrence, rather than a single lump-sum firm-fixed-price for the entire period of performance.

Government Response #19: It has been decided that the best contract vehicle for this requirement is a Time & Materials (T&M) type. Amendment 0001 reflects this change in each CLIN as a T&M, instead of being structured as Firm Fixed Price (FFP).

Vendor Question #20: Equipment & Material Pricing - Should offerors provide unit pricing schedules for equipment and supplies for proposal evaluation purposes, with actual quantities invoiced per authorized work order following Government acceptance?

Government Response #20: A Proposed Pricing Sheet was added as an additional attachment, that will be posted along with Amendment 0001.

Vendor Question #21: Equipment Cost Variability - Given the as-needed nature of replacement equipment and potential manufacturer price changes over the base and option years, please confirm that equipment and material costs will be invoiced based on pre-approved unit pricing and/or authorized actual costs, rather than being absorbed under a single firm-fixed-price.

Government Response #21: Yes

Vendor Question #22: After-Hours / Emergency Compensation - How is the contractor compensated for unforeseen emergency support performed outside normal duty hours, including weekends or holidays?

Government Response #22: No one will likely be called on any holiday. If it is a weekend, then there is no extra compensation.

Vendor Question #23: Workload Forecasting & System Condition - Workload Expectations Beyond the historical data provided for 2015–2016, does the Government anticipate any significant increase in workload due to system modernization, expansion, or technology refresh during the period of performance?

Government Response #23: No, not for this contract.

Vendor Question #24: Historical Labor Hours - Approximately how many man-hours were expended maintaining the PAVIS system during the most recent year for which data is available?

Government Response #24: See attachment 3 for estimate hours.

Vendor Question #25: Historical Service Data - If available, may the Government provide more recent historical data on PAVIS incidents, requests, and after-hours support to better reflect anticipated 2026 requirements?

Government Response #25. This requirement changes on a daily basis. For example: Sometimes there is no sound in a wing area of a building, an employee or department’s TV stops working, there may be a need to put up mounts and a new TV in a new construction, there could be a problem that occurs with underground wire because of flooding for an existing outdoor PA system that needs to be rendered usable for an event 3 days away, etc.

Vendor Question #26: Request vs. Incident Definition - Please provide a general description of what constitutes a PAVIS “Request” versus an “Incident,” and whether preventive maintenance activities are included in either category.

Government Response #26: Preventative maintenance has been removed.

Vendor Question #27: System Condition & Maintenance History - When was the current PAVIS system installed, has it been continuously maintained, and is the system currently considered fully operational?

Government Response #27: The current PAVIS system was installed 40 years ago and has been continuously maintained throughout that time. Yes, the system is considered fully operational.

Vendor Question #28: Labor Classification, Security & Administrative – Is there a historical DOL/SCA Occupational Code that has been assigned to the primary labor category for this requirement?

Government Response #28: A current Wage Determination from the Department of Labor was included as an attachment labeled “Attachment 2 – Wage Determination,” with the Solicitation that was posted on https://sam.gov/.

Vendor Question #29: FAR 52.222-42 Equivalent Rates FAR 52.222-42 is marked as applicable. May the Government provide the equivalent federal wage and benefit information used for evaluation?

Government Response #29: FAR clause 52.222-42 has been updated to reflect equivalent federal wage information, WG-10, Step 1 technician, rate: $34.29 per hour.

Vendor Question #30: Personnel Vetting & Access - Are there any specific clearance, background check, or credentialing requirements for contractor personnel beyond standard TYAD access procedures?

Government Response #30: Yes, this process would require a background check. (no specific clearance) The awardee of this contract would most likely want to acquire a yellow contractor badge, that would allow them site access with ease. The POC or COR for this requirement would help with this process after award.